All college football coaches are paranoid; P.J. Fleck will say so himself.

That anxiousness peaks around national signing day each winter. A recruit’s verbal commitment one day can be flipped by another program the next, leaving the spurned coach out in the cold.

The Gophers football coach didn’t have to worry about that with Ethan Robinson last December. His parents, Louis and Tawanda Robinson, made sure Ethan’s word was backed up in action.

Sitting in Fleck’s office, the senior transfer cornerback wanted to exit the portal and commit to Minnesota on the spot.

If that happens with other recruits, Fleck will celebrate and then insist that player posts a statement on social media to make it official. But he didn’t need to make that suggestion this time; Louis beat him to it.

After standing out across three seasons at FCS-level Bucknell, Ethan Robinson had more than 15 scholarship offers from FBS programs when he entered the portal on Dec. 4. He was scheduled to visit a couple other suitors after leaving Dinkytown.

Louis instructed Ethan to take out his phone, text those other coaches that he wasn’t going to fulfill the visits and show Fleck the messages sent.

“I’m sitting there going, ‘Oh my goodness. This is awesome. This is fantastic,’ ” Fleck said. “This is usually me having to walk people through how they say they are not coming (to others). Whose feelings are you going to hurt?”

Then Ethan posted his commitment to Minnesota on X and has since become a key member of the Gophers defense this season. The Montgomery, N.Y., native has two interceptions and 19 tackles through five games. With senior standout Justin Walley injured and missing the last two games, Robinson has been a security blanket on the other side.

USC — the Gophers’ opponent on Saturday night — was one of the schools recruiting Robinson last winter. Others included Auburn, Illinois, Purdue and Arkansas.”

It was just the culture, everything that coach Fleck, the program and the staff here stands for aligns and resonates with my values, my morals,” Robinson said at the start of spring practice in March. “Personally, just hard work, dedication and just trying to make yourself better every day, all things that I take pride in, and just seeing that alignment was very nice for me.”

Ethan wasn’t thrown off by his dad’s blunt direction in Fleck’s office. Louis worked for 20 years in the New York City Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). As a detective, he received a Medal for Valor for his involvement in a shooting that killed another officer in the Bronx in 1998.

“That’s just my dad,” Ethan said. “That’s one of his values. Commitments aren’t going to be taken lightly. If you’re going to commit to something, you’re going to be 100 percent. That’s who my dad is as a man.”

That’s who Ethan is as a young man, too. It’s what has been instilled in him and his younger brother Jayden from Louis and Tawanda, who works in education.

“We just tried to be models as best as we could,” Tawanda said. “We tried to expose him to a lot of diverse people, a lot of diverse ways of thinking. We tried to instill faith, family, hard work, never letting someone outwork you. Exploring all your options, working hard to achieve your goals. I mean, just family values.”

During that same commitment conversation in Fleck’s office, Tawanda turned to Ethan and asked: “Are you sure this is what you want to do? He seems kind of strict.”

Fleck interjected. “Strict?” he recalled saying. “We’re talking structure!”

Tawanda and P.J. both laughed when recalling the exchange.

“I liked P.J. from the beginning, but I could let him know that,” Tawanda said. “I think he’s an awesome coach. I love the way that he tries to uplift young men, and I love the way that he coaches and his style. I was impressed with him as a coach. We went into this process not knowing what to expect from coaches, and I was just really impressed with him as a person. He seemed real genuine and honest.”

The Gophers have gone into the FCS ranks for transfer additions in recent years and found success, examples being linebacker Jack Gibbens (Abilene Christian) and nickel back Jack Henderson (Southeastern Louisiana). And last year’s transfer cornerback Tre’Von Jones (Elon) started all 13 games and was one of the team’s leading tacklers.

The U also has had huge transfer hits at cornerback, including Benjamin St-Juste (Michigan), Chris Williamson (Florida) and Beanie Bishop (Western Kentucky and West Virginia). All three of those guys went onto the NFL.

Fleck credits director of player personnel Marcus Hendrickson and his staff. “We don’t have the biggest staff in the recruiting department,” Fleck said “(They also) do portal recruitment, high school recruiting, high school relations. They’re doing an awful lot. And I think it’s really hard to be right when we’re stretched the way we’re stretched, but that takes really elite people to be able to do the job they’re doing.”

The Gophers seek players that fit their strict — er, structured — program. And Robinson fits like a glove. One example is his persistent use of “sir” and “ma’am.”

“He’s a very regimented kid,” Fleck said. “He’s a very disciplined young man. What he says he’s going to do, he’s going to do. Incredibly accountable, responsible for everything he does. And one of the more polite people you’ll ever meet your entire life.”

Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said Robinson dove right in once he arrived on campus in January — from watching film, asking questions, and making use of every rep in practice, even the ones he’s not participating in. Robinson started in the season opener against North Carolina and has put another anxious coach at ease.

“I don’t even have to think about it — just trust him,” Hertherman said. “He’s in the right spot. He makes plays. He competes for the ball. But that’s how he went about it (starting) in April.”

Minnesota defensive back Ethan Robinson (2) intercepts a pass intended for Michigan tight end Colston Loveland (18) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Another key piece the Gophers look for with incoming transfers is a sense of gratitude. Players from the FCS level have it in spades, with the Gophers facilities feeling like the Taj Mahal, Fleck said.

Before the Gophers played the Wolverines at Michigan Stadium last week, quarterback Max Brosmer, a transfer from New Hampshire, sought out Robinson. He wanted them to soak in the opportunity to play in the Big House.

“We got to step back, realize it was a blessing to be here and be extremely grateful and then step back into the (present) moment,” Brosmer said. “He’s a guy that I talk to on a regular basis throughout the week — perspective-wise. I think it’s important to have perspective. … It’s been a good time with him.”

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By MAE ANDERSON and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. ports from Maine to Texas shut down this week when the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for the first time since 1977.

Workers began walking picket lines early Tuesday near ports all along the East and Gulf coasts.

A shutdown that lasts more than a few weeks has the potential to raise prices and create shortages of goods throughout the country as the holiday shopping season — along with a tight presidential election — approaches.

There have been some signs of movement in the talks, with the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, saying that both sides have moved from their initial wage offers. But on Wednesday, the alliance called on the International Longshoremen’s Union to come to the bargaining table. “We cannot agree to preconditions to return to bargaining, but we remain committed to bargaining in good faith,” the group said in a statement.

Dockworker Meikysha Wright and others strike outside the Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth, Va., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

Late Wednesday night, the ILA said that Harold Daggett, its president, and other union officers, had received death threats since the strike began. The union said the threats were reported to police.

President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday that he thought progress was being made in ending the strike. Asked how much, Biden said “We’ll find out soon.”

What are the issues in the dockworkers strike?

The union is demanding significantly higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks that are used in the loading or unloading of freight at 36 U.S. ports. Those ports handle roughly half of the nations’ cargo from ships.

The contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, expired Tuesday.

The union’s opening demand was a 77% pay raise over the six-year life of the contract, with Daggett saying that it would make up for inflation and years of small raises. ILA members make a base salary of about $81,000 per year, but some can pull in over $200,000 annually with large amounts of overtime.

On Monday, before workers hit the picket lines, the alliance said it had increased its offer to 50% raises over six years, and it pledged to keep limits on automation in place from the old contract. The alliance also said its offer tripled employer contributions to retirement plans and strengthened health care options.

FILE – Ship to shore cranes work the container ship CMA CGM Laperouse at the Georgia Ports Authority’s Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File)

Which ports are affected?

While any port can handle any type of goods, some ports are specialized to handle goods for a particular industry. The ports affected by the shutdown include Baltimore and Brunswick, Georgia, the top two busiest auto ports; Philadelphia, which gives priority to fruits and vegetables; and New Orleans, which handles coffee, mainly from South America and Southeast Asia, various chemicals from Mexico and North Europe, and wood products from Asia and South America.

Other major ports affected include Boston; New York/New Jersey; Norfolk, Virginia; Wilmington, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Tampa, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and Houston.

Can the government intervene?

If a strike were deemed a danger to U.S. economic health, President Joe Biden could, under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period. This would suspend the strike.

But during an exchange with reporters on Sunday, Biden said “no” when asked if he planned to intervene.

“Because it’s collective bargaining, I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” Biden said.

How will this affect consumers?

If the strike is resolved within a few weeks, consumers probably wouldn’t notice any significant shortages or price hikes. But a work stoppage that persists for more than a month could be a different story, depending on what you’re shopping for. Most holiday retail goods have already arrived from overseas, so there is a buffer. Prices on everything from fruits and vegetables to cars may head higher, at least temporarily, if it drags on.

That would be unwelcome news after snarled supply chains sent prices jetting higher at the end of the pandemic, and could be potentially damaging politically with Election Day about a month away.

The “sell-by” clock never stops ticking

Container loads of highly perishable bananas are stuck at some ports and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters Thursday that it will be hard to retrieve them due to the strike. Biden has urged shipping companies in particular to try harder to resolve the dispute, he said.

“That’s the most effective way of getting the bananas to wherever they need to go. And hopefully the shippers will come to the table,” Vilsack said. “The union will come to the table. Collective bargaining will work, and we’ll get this resolved quickly.”

Limiting the duration of this strike is the key to preventing shortages and higher prices, Vilsack said.

“Our assessment is if this lasts a couple of weeks, we’re not talking about a significant disruption,” he said. “If you get into months, then obviously that’s a different situation.”

Businesses are making contingency plans

Since the major supply chain disruption in 2021, retailers have adapted to supply chain disrupters being the new norm, said Rick Haase, owner of a mini-chain of Patina gift shops in and around the Twin Cities in Minnesota.

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“The best approach for Patina has been to secure orders early and have the goods in our warehouse and back rooms to ensure we are in stock on key goods,” Haase said.

Still, housing those goods for longer can have an inflationary impact at the register because retailers will need to recoup those storage costs, or absorb them.

Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun, a Boca Raton, Florida, the maker of Care Bears and Lincoln Logs, has already shifted all of the toy company’s container shipments away from the East Coast to West Coast ports, primarily Los Angeles and Long Beach. That too, comes with a cost.

The maneuver added anywhere from 10% to 20% in extra costs that his company will have to absorb because Basic Fun’s prices for the next 10 months are locked in with retailers. But Foreman would consider raising prices during the second half of 2025 if the strike is prolonged.

Daniel Vasquez, who owns the import, export specialty company Dynamic Auto Movers in Miami, increased inventory, specifically for vehicles that take longer to ship, in anticipation of a strike.

He too stopped relying on one port or shipping partner and has expanded his relationship with smaller ports and shipping companies that can bypass congested areas.

How will a strike affect holiday shopping?

Jonathan Gold, vice president of the supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, said the strike arrives with the supply network already facing challenges from Houthi attacks on commercial shipping that have essentially shut down the use of the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

Rising uncertainty over the supply chain arrives at the peak of the holiday shipping season for retailers, which traditionally runs from July through early November. Many big retailers, anticipating a strike, started shipping goods to U.S. distribution centers in June, and Gold said that the majority of those products are already in the U.S.

Yet on top of the cost of storing goods for longer, retailers will have a hard time replenishing their inventory should the strike drag on, and as Gold pointed out, carriers are already announcing surcharges on shipped containers due to potential disruptions.

Toy companies had ready diverted many shipments through Los Angeles in anticipation of a strike and inventories at stores are right now are healthy, said Greg Ahearn who leads The Toy Association, the nation’s leading toy trade group. He said Wednesday that the strike becomes more problematic with time, specifically in satisfying demand for popular toys as Christmas approaches.

As much as 60% of annual sales for toy companies occur during the current quarter, Ahearn said.

“The longer this goes on, the higher probability that toys that parents and caregivers want for their children will be scarce and with scarcity comes the potential for higher prices,” he said

AP Writers Tom Krisher, Stephen Groves and Colleen Long contributed to this report.

By HALELUYA HADERO

Retailers are ramping up hiring for the holiday season, but fewer seasonal employees are expected to be taken on this year to help customers in stores and assemble online orders in warehouses.

E-commerce giant Amazon said Thursday it will hire 250,000 full, part-time and seasonal workers for the crucial shopping period, rounding out a series of announcements made in recent weeks by the country’s top retailers.

Amazon is hiring the same number of employees it did last year, similar to Bath & Body Works and Target, which said in September it planned to bring in roughly 100,000 seasonal employees and offer current employees the option to work extra hours during the holiday shopping period.

Meanwhile, the department store Kohl’s encouraged people to apply for positions but stayed mum on its plans, mirroring Walmart, which said it’s been hiring store associates throughout the year and will tap into its own staff when needed during the busy season.

Others have indicated they will scale back their holiday hiring. Macy’s said it would add more than 31,500 seasonal positions this year across its Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury stores, as well as its distribution centers. Last year, the company added 38,000.

This year’s demand for seasonal workers comes as economists are watching the U.S. job market for signs of a slowdown. Job openings have come down steadily since peaking at 12.2 million in March 2022. When the economy roared back with unexpected strength from COVID-19 lockdowns, companies scrambled to find enough workers to keep up with customer orders.

The holiday shopping period is the busiest time of year for online and brick-and-mortar retailers, some of which have already announced discount events to entice consumers planning to shop early for gifts.

The consulting firm Deloitte forecasts U.S. retail sales will increase 2.3% to 3.3% between November and January and reach a total of $1.59 trillion. EY-Parthenon, the consulting arm of Ernst & Young, forecasts a similar 3% jump in sales during the traditional November-December period.

However, EY Parthenon expects price increases due to inflation to account for a big chunk of that growth, saying real volume sales will only rise 0.5% year-over-year.

Online sales, a growing segment of retail, is expected to increase 8.4% and reach a record $240.8 billion, according to Adobe, which tracks e-commerce transactions.

“At the moment, retailers appear optimistic for a strong holiday shopping season, which is being reflected in the hiring plans of major retailers and warehouses,” said Andy Challenger, senior vice president at the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

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Overall, U.S. retailers are expected to add 520,000 new jobs in the final quarter of this year compared to 564,200 in 2023, according to a report released last month by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The firm, which analyzes non-seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, says that’s more than the 509,300 seasonal jobs retailers added in 2022. But it represents the second-lowest total since 2009.

Generally, the labor market has gradually lost momentum since the Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark interest rate numerous times in 2022 and 2023 to combat high inflation. Last month, the Fed cut its key rate for the first time in more than four years. The move reflected its new focus on bolstering the job market.

The retail industry nevertheless may encounter challenges filling openings in the coming weeks and months “due to the demands of the job and pay,” Challenger said.

To scoop up employees, companies like Macy’s and JCPenney as well as sporting goods stores Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s are recruiting workers through nationwide hiring events. JCPenney plans to hire more than 10,000 store associates, roughly the same as last year. Macy’s said it would offer on-the-spot interviews during its first event, which took place last week in its stores and warehouses. The company plans to hold three more events this year.

“We are finding strong application flow,” Macy’s said, adding that nearly a third of its recent hires were people who had worked at the company before.

Amid the growth in online shopping, the delivery giant UPS said it planned to hire 125,000 seasonal workers for the holiday rush, up from 100,000 last year.

Radial, an e-commerce company that powers deliveries for brands like Calvin Klein and Express, said it intended to hire fewer people but also planned to scale its staff based on real-time demand. That approach allows the company to meet customers’ needs “without overcommitting,” said Billy Peterson, a senior vice president at Radial.

On the buyer side, consumers have been resilient with their spending while also showing signs of stress, with credit-card debt rising and savings rates falling, trends that could weigh on spending in future months.

Retail sales ticked up from July to August, after jumping the most in a year and a half the previous month. At the same time, consumers have been more prudent about their purchases and pushing back against high prices by trading down to store brands or seeking out deals for products.

However, holiday shoppers could see even higher prices on products if a port workers’ strike that has shut down all the major dockyards on the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. and the Gulf coast persists for more than a month.

The comptroller’s office says some inroads have been made but “far more is needed to be fully prepared for heavy storms.”

Since the news of Mayor Eric Adams federal corruption charges broke, government officials have questioned his ability to lead the city amid the turmoil.

And the city’s Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running against Adams for the mayoral seat in next year’s election, says the administration also can’t lose sight of the fact that hurricane season is underway.

Lander’s office published a fact sheet Thursday that zeros in on how prepared the city is to deal with extreme rain. The breakdown tracks the progress made on key hurricane preparedness efforts flagged in a more comprehensive report launched in April, and identified several areas for improvement.

“New Yorkers deserve a Mayoral administration that is laser focused on managing a more climate-prepared and resilient city,” Lander said in an email.

“Climate change continues to bring more and more devastating storms every hurricane season—and the City needs to improve the way it handles emergency outreach, storm operations, and resilient capital projects to be most prepared,” he noted.

June saw the earliest category five storm on record, Hurricane Beryl, make landfall in the Caribbean and bring heavy rainfall to New York.

The comptroller’s update, which spans from April to August of this year, found that only “modest progress” has been made in maintaining the city’s 153,000 catch basins or storm drains. And not enough New Yorkers, including residents in basement apartments,  are getting emergency notifications when a severe storm hits.

The city has made headway, however, in spending the federal dollars it received to address the damage brought on by hurricane Sandy 12 years ago.

“But far more is needed to be fully prepared for heavy storms,” the factsheet concludes.

Work in progress

When it comes to hurricane preparedness, the least progress has been made in replacing the specialized trucks used to unclog the litter that often makes its way into the city’s catch basins, the fact sheet notes. 

These need to be cleaned regularly so they can easily drain excess rainwater during a storm. 

The 51 catch basin trucks that the city has in its fleet, however, have “aged past their expected useful lives of 8-10 years,” the Comptroller’s April report highlights.  The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is working on replacing 32 of these, and told City Limits they expect the first batch of that allotment to be delivered “likely” within the “next few weeks.”

But the comptroller’s office warns that 18 remaining trucks in the fleet still need to be replaced and that “no timeline” had been provided for those.

“It was really alarming when we found out that a huge proportion of the catch basin cleaning truck fleet was out of service. They had broken parts, were in disrepair and were just waiting to be serviced,” said Louise Yeung, chief climate officer for the comptroller.

“So with such a diminished availability of these specialized catch basin cleaning trucks, It really begs the question of whether the city can actually clean those catch basins effectively in time for the next storm,” she added. 

To top it off, since April, the DEP only replaced 3.2 percent of the catch basins that needed to be swapped out, according to the report. In total, that’s 48 out of 1,500 that the comptroller’s office flagged as needing replacement.

The report also says that only 6.7 percent of catch basins that required new hardware, or 131 out of 1,927, got those replacements.

DEP, however, rebutted these claims, underscoring in an email that “less than 2 percent of the catch basins citywide need to be replaced, and a similar number require hardware upgrades.” 

“Any catch basin that needs to be cleaned is in fact cleaned,” a DEP spokesperson said in an email.

The department also notes that “catch basin maintenance as well as storm preparations are performed year-round” highlighting that they partner with other agencies to follow a city-wide flash flood emergency plan and evaluate chronic flooding locations annually.

But functioning catch basins aren’t the only problem flagged by the comptroller’s office. They claim not enough New Yorkers are being notified when severe storms hit. 

To get text or email alerts from the city about when a storm is on its way, New Yorkers can subscribe to Notify NYC. After signing up, users can opt to receive “basement alerts” that notify those who live in basement apartments, which are typically prone to flooding, about potentially life-threatening weather conditions.

There are over 1.2 million New Yorkers enrolled in the alert system, which Yueng warns is just  “a drop in the bucket” considering the Big Apple’s adult population is almost 7 million people. Between April and August, NotifyNYC subscribers have only increased by 2.7 percent. 

The New York City Emergency Management Department (NYCEM), which helps handle weather emergencies, doubled the number of people enrolled in basement alerts from 2,387 subscribers to 5,147 subscribers. But that still only makes up 1 to 2 percent of the estimated number of basement residents, the comptroller’s office notes.

A NYCEM spokesperson noted in an email that they rely “on multiple resources to inform New Yorkers of potential impacts for all emergencies.” These include agency partners, elected officials, community organizations and a volunteer group of over 700 members who help inform communities when a weather crisis is at large.

Still, environmental groups like We Act that have come up with their own plan to warn folks about what to do during an emergency say more could be done. Passing out emergency kits with tools like first aid supplies, hand crank radios and flashlights, as well as being more strategic about community partnerships the city makes, could go a long way.

“I think the information that the city has created to prepare people for storms and extreme rain events are really not permeating out into the community at the levels that it needs,” said Annie Carforo, the climate justice campaigns manager at WE ACT.

Still, there is some good news. The comptroller’s report found that improvements have been made on spending the federal dollars that poured in to fortify the city from storms after Hurricane Sandy tore through the Big Apple in 2012.

Of the money that came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 75 percent has been spent, up from 66 percent in 2022.

And better yet, 97 percent of the funds that came from the disaster recovery program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been invested.

The city’s Chief Climate Officer, Rohit Aggarwala, underscored in an email that billions have been invested since hurricane Sandy to prepare the city to weather another massive storm. But admitted that “even with this, the work is far from complete.” 

“The good news is that we have also invested huge amounts of money in resilience—which is not about preventing flooding but ensuring that we can withstand and bounce back from it,” Aggarwala said.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Mariana@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

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